It was smooth if not exactly subtle, the moment Thursday when the Fanshawe College-Kingsmill’s proposal shifted from council dilemma to mayoral-race flashpoint.

Joe Swan, the city councillor running for mayor, has a knack for re-framing issues in crafty ways. And he’s doing it again as he leads the political opposition to Fanshawe’s request for $9 million to help fund its downtown expansion into the empty department store.

Speaking to reporters, Swan made it clear he expects the conflict to cast a long shadow over the race to Oct. 27.

“I’m showing taxpayers what separates me from the other candidates,” he said at a news conference called to reiterate his concerns about the project’s price-tag of $66.2 million (though nearly half that is for non-construction costs).

“For me, it’s a defining difference between myself and other candidates. If they want to spend more money than is necessary, that’s their choice. It’s not for me.”

Shrugging off the suggestion he’s turned the project into a divisive issue, Swan indicated Fanshawe president Peter Devlin is the one splitting London with a plan he argues could be completed for far less.

“He (Devlin) must see that this is causing a rift in our community,” Swan said. “The college and the city can actually achieve a successful result if we work together.”

Swan’s comments drew a sharp rebuke from one of the other mayoral front-runners, Matt Brown, a council colleague who’s among the loudest backers of the Fanshawe-Kingsmill’s plan.

“This is ridiculous,” Brown said. “I’ve never seen anyone work so hard to prevent investment in the downtown. Is this how Joe thinks we should treat those who want to make massive investments in our community? Greeting them with roadblocks, delays, deferrals and red tape?”

Roger Caranci, another acknowledged front-runner, has also slammed Swan for blocking the Fanshawe project. He also wants the school to be more open with taxpayers about what led them to fixate on Kingsmill’s.

Swan, though, met with reporters downtown Thursday not far from Budweiser Gardens, the downtown-changing investment he helped approve during his previous stint on council more than a decade ago.

Critics, he says, have forgotten that track record.

“I’m Mr. Downtown,” he said. “They (downtown boosters) have to have more confidence we’re going to do the right thing.”

Swan pointed to two other sites — The Met, next to Kingsmill’s; and Market Tower that Fanshawe already rejected — that could house the proposed 1,600 students but be bought without any more city cash.

It’s hard not to hear echoes of Swan’s former political ally, Joe Fontana, whose 2010 mayoral campaign was built around a promise to protect taxpayers.

Swan, the former NDP candidate who’s morphed into a pro-business voice on council, is pushing the same buttons.

“Waste is waste,” he said. “If you work in government then you have a responsibility for handling taxpayers’ money. And if I can get a deal for 20% cheaper than the existing proposal, then I’ll do it.”

City council last month rejected Fanshawe’s request for $10 million to help fund its Kingsmill’s plans. A revised request, this one for $9 million, goes to council for a vote Tuesday.​